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How should we protest neo-Nazis? Lessons from German history

Violent face-offs gave the Nazis a chance to claim victimhood of a pugnacious, lawless left

Tripods of television crew stand in front of the Indian Supreme Court building in New Delhi
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Tripods of television crew stand in front of the Indian Supreme Court building in New Delhi. Photo: Reuters

Laurie Marhoefer | The Conversation

After the murder of Heather Heyer in Charlottesville, many people are asking themselves what they should do if Nazis rally in their city. Should they put their bodies on the line in counterdemonstrations? Some say yes.

History says no. Take it from me: I study the original Nazis.

We have an ethical obligation to stand against fascism and racism. But we also have an ethical obligation to do so in a way that doesn’t help the fascists and racists more than it hurts them.

History repeats itself

Charlottesville was right out of the Nazi playbook. In the 1920s,